The Dandy Warhols @ The Anson Rooms

Going into the gig not knowing what to expect, waiting in the communal area seemed like the calm before the storm of something really special.

Once I made my way into the hall which holds an impressive amount of people, I got a drink and found a place pretty near the front. The support band, The Dark Horses kicked off and the crowd was relaxed but soon there were a few bopping heads and arms in the air, and the atmosphere heightened. With support bands before, I haven’t expected that much but I have been pleasantly surprised and this band was no different. Every member were showmen and women, never standing still and moving to the music.

The lighting if anything covered them a little too much but I got adjusted to it whilst waiting for The Dandy Warhols to start and it was an amazing feeling – a lot of my friends had Fall Out Boy or Sum 41 or some generic pop band to idolise. I had The Dandys who always made me feel 100 times better, whatever mood I was in. It was so unusual to hear such an experimental band from such a young age and it really influenced me to create anything I wanted art-wise.

As soon as The Dandy Warhols started, people were taking selfies and the recording devices came out so they could watch through a screen. Seems that it’s no fun unless your Facebook friends are jealous.

My heart was thumping from the heavy bass and it was like floating but being held to the ground. The atmosphere was electric: the age range was very varied which was a lovely change. Normally you see a band from early 90’s and there are 13-15 year olds thinking they are diehard fans even though they were born much later then when they started. In fact in this case, the older viewers were the ones dancing and smiling a lot more.

The lights were incredibly done and were to-the-beat perfection; each song came with a new form of a light show. All of the performers oozed professionalism and knew how to put themselves on the stage so they all worked in harmony together. Every single song grew better and better and each song became a new favourite but when ‘Bohemian Like You’ came on, the crowd went mad.It seemed everyone knew the lyrics to this beauty.

The mixture of songs covered made it interesting, and with sometimes a minute or two between songs with just the computer sounds filling the gaps was a dark twist. The excitement grew as songs would be plucked from the dark filler sounds and all in all, it was easily one of the best bands I have seen for a long long time.

Fantastic respect for the curfew as well, which is rare, because most bands have a poor attitude for it.

The photos don’t do it justice, but the lighting was a piece of art in its own right and also the show as a whole.

A fantastic night.